Beavers sweep Golden Eagles in midweek match
Bemidji State swept University of Minnesota Crookston 3-0 on Tuesday at Lysaker Gymnasium. Bemidji State hit .402 with 49 kills and held Minnesota Crookston to a .068 hitting percentage.
BSU hit .402 with 49 kills and eight attack errors, while UMC finished with 24 kills, 17 attack errors and a .068 hitting percentage. The Beavers also held advantages in digs, 56-40, and total blocks, 9-2, with Ava Athman adding 19 kills on .531 hitting to support the attack. A 12-0 run in the third set, including 11 straight service points, reflected how Bemidji State finished the match from that point.
From the opening points, Bemidji State controlled the first set, using an Athman kill from Ava Boelter to go up 2-0 and building the advantage to 10-4. Athman, Nevaeh Carlson and Ella Kratochvil supplied steady offense, while Isabella Vander Velden, Madison Tripp and Grace Hoffard were involved in blocks as BSU stretched the set to 24-12. The Beavers closed the set 25-13 on a Tripp block.
Facing a 21-19 deficit, Bemidji State answered by scoring five straight points on Tripp’s serve in the second, moving ahead 24-21 behind a shared block by Tripp and Vander Velden, an Athman kill and Tripp’s service ace. Minnesota Crookston cut it to 24-23, but a service error closed BSU’s 25-23 set win.
In the third set, the Beavers closed with 12 straight points, turning a 13-8 lead into a 25-8 finish. Anna Paquette served the final 11 points of the set, while Athman delivered six kills during that service stretch, including the final point. The set win completed the match for Bemidji State.
Athman led Bemidji State with 19 kills and 20.0 points while hitting .531. Carlson added 15 kills on a .433 hitting percentage. Tripp recorded 34 assists, 18 digs, two aces and four total blocks. Vander Velden finished with five total blocks and three kills.
Bemidji State is 12-3 overall and 4-3 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play. Minnesota Crookston is 3-12 overall and 1-6 in conference play. Up next, Bemidji State travels to Winona, Minn., to face Winona State University on Friday, Oct. 2, at 6 p.m.